


Those who are hardest to love are the ones who need it the most.

by youretheone



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-12
Updated: 2015-06-17
Packaged: 2018-02-12 21:49:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2125812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youretheone/pseuds/youretheone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve loved Danny unconditionally. The only problem was that Danny didn’t think he deserved to be loved, and was always imagining the worst-case scenario.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Steve was unconditionally in love with Danny Williams. He’d fallen in love with him so slowly that he hadn’t even realized it was happening until it had hit him like a tidal wave. Danny and Grace had come over one evening because it was too hot outside and Grace had wanted to go for a swim. The fact that Steve had a private beach in his backyard was a blessing in disguise since Danny hated going to the beach on days like that, when it was too hot and the beach was too crowded.

It didn’t take long before suddenly the sky opened up and it was pouring down in buckets outside, and Danny had grabbed Grace and ran inside, cursing the weather on the island with all of his might. Steve had laughed and they had decided to put on some popcorn and watch Lilo and Stitch.

Grace had fallen asleep, and Steve had suggested they’d stay the night. Danny had picked her up and was going to carry her upstairs when Steve remembered he’d have to ask him if he needed to borrow some earplugs.

“Hey, Danny?” he’d asked.

And right there and then, when Danny had turned around with his beautiful daughter in his arms and his big, blue eyes looking at back at him, Steve had realized that he had in fact fallen head over heels in love.

“What, babe?” Danny had said, keeping his voice low so he wouldn’t wake up Grace. Steve had shook his head and muttered a ‘never mind’, Danny had shot him a confused look before shrugging and taken Grace upstairs.

A week later Steve had mustered up the courage to tell him, Danny had first brushed it off as a joke, but when Steve had kissed him, he’d been so surprised that he’d pushed him and practically ran way. Steve had been pretty devastated, he could handle rejection, but knowing that he might as well have ruined his friendship with Danny was awful.

The feeling hadn’t stuck long, since Danny had come back closer to midnight, banging on his door like a maniac. When Steve had opened the door, all the blonde man had asked was “did you really mean it?”

Steve had nodded “Yeah.” He said, and then Danny had crushed his lips against Steve’s and that had been that.

So Steve loved Danny unconditionally. The only problem was that Danny didn’t think he deserved to be loved. Steve still remembered when he and Danny had been caught under the rubble after the explosion last year, how scared he’d been when he noticed Danny was hurt. The memory that had really stuck though was when Danny had admitted to him how he always expected the worst in every situation and every relationship. That even on his wedding day, he’d been seriously dreading the undeniable divorce.

Danny had broken up with Gabrielle because he didn’t want Grace to get attached to someone, because he was sure that she would eventually leave. He and Amber had broken up because she had said he was getting more and more distant and shielding the more serious they got.

So Steve had decided to show Danny how much he loved him as often as he could, he was never much of a romantic, but he knew that he had to reassure Danny that he wasn’t going anywhere soon. The relationship between them was special, they already knew each other’s darkest secrets and fondest memories even before they started dating.

Still, he noticed how careful Danny always was with him, as if he didn’t know how much Steve loved waking up to the other man almost every morning.

“We should move in together.” Steve had said one day while they were sitting outside having a beer.

“Should we?” Danny had asked back, and Steve had gotten a certain grace and insight in reading Danny, one that he never had with Catherine. So what Danny was actually saying right there, even though he probably wasn’t aware of it himself, was; so you want to move in together because that is the next logical step in our relationship, not because you want to?

Yes, loving Danny was very difficult and it would probably take years and years for Danny to learn to be loved the way he deserved to. Danny Williams deserved to be loved though, and there was no way Steve was going to let him get away.

Danny’s insecurities was his own problem, and sometimes it frustrated Steve so much that he almost wanted to grab Danny and shake some sense into him. Most days though, he just wanted to help in any way that he could.

“I want to.” Steve answered “Don’t you?”

“Why?” Danny had asked, and it was so typical Danny. He just imagined if he had asked Catherine the same question, she would have grinned and hugged him. Danny though, just looked at him with a certain curiosity.

“Because I love you, and we pretty much spend every night together anyway.” Steve said “And it would make me happy.”

“What about what I want?” Danny had asked, and it had hurt Steve. It was times like these it was really hard to love Danny, not because he wasn’t loveable, but because he was so scared of being hurt. Steve didn’t answer at first, and Danny sighed. “That came out wrong.”

“If you don’t want to move in, you don’t have to.” Steve said “But I do think you want to, but you’re scared.”

“Scared?” Danny asked, showing a bit of amusement in his voice. “Of what?”

“Of things not working out.” Steve answered calmly.

“Why would you say that?” Danny asked, and in his mind what Steve had just told him translated into _Steve_ being the one worried that things wouldn’t work out.

“Because I think that’s what you’re worried about.” Steve said, as he got up from his seat and stood in front of Danny. “Here.” He said and reached out his hands, Danny just cocked an eyebrow at him before he put his hands in Steve and let the other man drag him to his feet.

“Listen.” Steve said “I want to move in with you, I want to be with you in every way possible and if I wasn’t’ so sure you’d say no I’d probably ask you to marry me.”

Danny looked like he was going to throw up then, and Steve laughed and kissed the top of his head “Don’t worry, Danno” He said “I’ll settle for you moving in for now.”

Danny shook his head “I have Grace to worry about.”

“She already has her own room here.” Steve said “And if you two want, we can move someplace else.”

Danny looked in complete disbelief at that “You love this house, your dad-“

“I love you more.” Steve answered “I want you to be happy, and I want us to work out, but we have got to keep moving forward.”

Danny looked down at his feet “You want to get married?”

“Someday, maybe.”

“I don’t.” Danny said “I really don’t, and babe, it has nothing to do with you, but I’ve already done that and… If that’s what you want, then how is this not just a break-up waiting to happen?”

Steve sighed, he really had to remind himself of the promise he’d made himself. Never make Danny believe he’d stop loving him.

“I want to.” Steve said “Isn’t that a good thing? I’m saying I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but if we never promise each other that with rings and vows, then that’s okay too.”

Danny cocked his head to the side and smiled fondly at the other man “You know, it took me a long time to figure your crazy head out, and when I finally think ‘okay, so this is who he is’, then you surprise me all over again.”

“Guess we’ll never be boring then.” Steve said “So what do you say?”

“I like my apartment.” Danny said, but there was some teasing behind his voice “It took me a long time to find the perfect apartment.”

“It took you an even longer time to find the perfect boyfriend, so you should choose me.” Steve said, and Danny laughed before leaning up to kiss the other man on his lips.

“Okay, then.”

“Good.”

“Hey, Steve?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you too.”

Steve grinned and leaned in to kiss his temple softly. “I know you do.”

So loving Danny wasn’t always easy, some days it was the most difficult job in the world, but he needed and deserved it more than anyone and Steve had always loved a good challenge.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just had to add another chapter to this after the 100th episode. SO SPOILERS.

Danny Williams had spent a lot of his life being terrified. Terrified of commitment, of losing someone he loved. He was scared of being alone, and he was scared of falling in love. So even though he would never admit it, Steve McGarrett had sort of been a blessing in disguise for him.

On the outside, Steve didn't seem to be scared of anything. He was brave and caring, and when he fell in love, he gave it all he had. He'd loved and he'd lost, and he still continued believing in a happy ending. When it came to commitment and relationship, he was everything that Danny wasn't.

Steve was Danny's best friend, he was the one person that Danny could share his insecurities and doubts with, and actually wanting his advice, even though he never admitted it. When Steve had kissed him for the first time, it had been completely devastating, because all Danny could see, was him losing that one person.

For some insane reason though, Danny had listened to that voice in the back of his head telling him that he would never be happy unless he took a risk, and that he would most certainly lose his chance at a relationship with the guy he loved more than anything if he didn't do something before it was too late.

So he'd gone back to Steve's house, gotten his reassurance and jumped into the deep end, without knowing how or if it was going to work out. It had been one of the best decisions of his life.

Slowly, but certainly, Steve had helped Danny believe in love again. He'd made him see what a relationship should be like, and no matter how scared or stupid he had been acting because of his own insecurities, Steve had never left his side. Not once. So he'd taken another chance, and he'd accepted Steve's offer about moving in with him.

And just like with everything in their relationship, Danny had learned to love it. He loved waking up to the man he loved, he loved the sheer joy on his daughter's face when Steve had told her that they could paint and decorate her room however she wanted it, he loved staying in and watching a movie and he loved the security of knowing that Steve was always going to be there. That's what he had promised.

The second Danny had realized someone had taken Steve, everything came crashing down. He had felt a despair in his gut that was close to the one he'd felt when Grace had been taken.

Each and every second from that moment up until the one where they had found a bleeding and disoriented Steve on the floor, Danny had needed to remind himself that Steve was a fighter, a survivor, and most importantly, that Steve kept his promises.

Steve was asking about his dad, and Danny had wanted to cry because he was so relieved that he wouldn't have to tell Grace that Steve was gone, but he was also so upset over the pure devastation on his boyfriend's face when he had to tell him that his father was dead.

Danny never left his side while Steve was in the hospital, and he barely registered it whenever someone was telling him to get some sleep. Because this was the reason why he was always so scared. He couldn't deal with losing someone else he loved, which is why he had never wanted another relationship to go that far.

Steve opened his eyes every now and again, a little less disoriented each time, and kept asking Danny to stay with him.

Of course Danny was going to stay with him, that had never been up for discussion.

After almost two days, Steve was rested and hydrated enough to give his statement. After Duke and the rest of the team had left, Steve looked over at Danny, who smiled at him.

"I missed you." Steve said, and Danny almost broke down right there.

"I missed you." He told Steve, and Steve moved his arm closer to the side of the bed, gesturing for Danny to take his hand. Danny smiled at him and squeezed his hand tight.

"I think you were in my dream." Steve said.

"Really?" Danny asked, wondering if it had anything to do with what he had been saying about his father when they had first found him. After what he had been told about the drugs they had found, that was probably the case. "Was it dirty?"

Steve chuckled, and shook his head before wetting his lips.

Before Steve said anything, Danny handed him a cup of water. "Small sips, yeah?"

Steve did as he was told, before Danny put the cup back on the nightstand and was ready to listen to Steve's story.

"You wore one of those Hawaii shirts." He said, and Danny raised his eyebrows.

"That's a nightmare, not a dream, babe." Danny said, and Steve chuckled again. Danny squeezed his hand harder.

"You're mad at me, aren't you?" Steve asked, and Danny couldn't understand why he would even think that, but lately it did seem that Steve knew him even better than he knew himself sometimes.

"Why would you say that?" Danny asked.

"Because I promised." Steve answered, and Danny bit his lip so he wouldn't do something he'd later regret.

Steve and Danny hadn't even finished unpacking Danny's boxes when they had had an awful case where Steve had taken a stupid risk instead of waiting for SWAT, and ended up almost getting a bullet through the head. Danny had ran over to what he had thought was Steve's lifeless body, and had almost had a heart attack when Steve had gotten up from the floor and thanking Kono for the back-up.

"You okay?" Danny had asked, barely being able to get the words out.

Steve had made some stupid joke that Danny couldn't even remember, and he had been so mad that he couldn't even answer. Instead he had just held his hands up in defeat and backed away from Steve, muttering "I'm done, we're done", over and over again before practically running to the car and driving off, ignoring Steve yelling after him.

Steve had come home to Danny furiously trying to re-pack all of his things, and Steve had grabbed his arms trying to make him stop. Danny could barely remember the things he had been shouting at the other man, but it had been completely awful. When he was done, Steve had just stood there, and Danny had broken down crying, and Steve had held him for what had seemed like an eternity.

Steve had told him that even if it was his job, he wouldn't take _unnecessary_ risks anymore. Danny had barely heard him as he kept asking him over and over again how Steve had even dared to tell him that he wanted them to be together forever, if he was just going to leave Danny all alone.

It had been one of the worst night of Danny's life.

So Danny just stared at Steve as he lied there in his hospital bed, looking bruised and broken, wondering what he was going to say. He wanted to yell. He wanted to scream at the world for being so unfair to him. He couldn't though, because this hadn't been Steve's fault. Steve, the man he loved, was bruised and broken, and right now, he was the one needing reassurance that everything was going to be okay.

"Yes, I'm mad." Danny said "But not at you."

"I'm sorry if I worried you." Steve said, and Danny was so upset right then, because of course that was what Steve was thinking about. Danny. Always Danny.

"Of course you did." Danny said "I love you."

Steve smiled. "I love you too." he said "So much."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Danny asked, and Steve looked like he was thinking about it, but then he shook his head.

"Not yet." He said and Danny nodded in understanding, before just watching Steve for a moment. Then he brought their entwined fingers together and kissed the top of Steve's hand before leaning in and kissing him softly on the lips.

"Are you staying?" Steve asked when Danny leaned back in his chair, clearly not remembering all the times he'd asked him during the last 36 hours.

Danny nodded "Always."

Steve wasn't the same after that. Danny brought him home from the hospital, and Steve had nightmares that he wouldn't talk about, and often walked around the house like a zombie. He still lit up when Grace came to visit though, and he still told Danny he loved him every chance he got.

Some things changed, some things didn't.

After a while Steve started opening up, and started telling Danny about the dreams he was having and about everything that he could remember Wo Fat doing to him. Danny would stroke his cheek and pat his back and tell him everything was going to be okay, because Danny needed to believe that it would. Danny needed to be the one to reassure Steve this time.

The more he opened up, the more he relaxed, and eventually Steve slept all through the night, his body entwined with Danny's. He came back to work, and was focused and didn't have trouble doing his duty. When they finished for the night, he would tap on the door to Danny's office, who was finishing up their paperwork, Danny would smile, get up from his chair and walk over to Steve and kiss him before they went home.

After a couple of months, everything went back to normal. More importantly, they were still together, there wasn't anything they couldn't overcome.

On what seemed like a normal Sunday morning, Steve was eating cereal and saying something about how wonderful Grace had been at her dance recital the night before when Danny found himself staring more than he was listening.

"What?" Steve asked, as he noticed Danny staring as well. "Do I have milk on my chin or something?"

"Will you marry me?" Danny asked, barely even registering the words coming out of his mouth. He didn't regret it though, as he just sat there and smiling at Steve who looked more shocked than Danny had ever seen him.

"What?" Steve asked, like he was sure that he must have misheard his boyfriend. Danny couldn't blame him though, after everything Danny had told him about getting married again.

But like with most things in their relationship, Danny now loved the idea of marriage. No, scratch that. He loved the idea of being married to Steve. So, when Steve just continued staring at him, Danny coughed before taking Steve's hand in his.

"I said-" He began before he got down from his chair and got down one knee on the living room. "Will you marry me?"

Steve still looked like he needed more time to process exactly what Danny was saying, mostly because he probably thought that Danny would never in a million years even think about proposing. "Is this because of what happened?" Steve asked then, "Because I've told you before, I wanna be with you forever, no matter what-"

"Okay, shut up." Danny said, if he had known Steve was going to be this difficult he wouldn't have leaned on his bad knee.

They weren't very traditional anyway, so Danny stood back up and took the bowl of cereal from Steve's hand and put it on the coffee table. Then he put one knee on either side of Steve's hips on the couch until he was practically sitting on his lap, before he leaned in closer until his forehead was resting against Steve's and his fingers were combing through Steve's short hair.

"Listen." He said in a soft, but stern voice. "I want to be annoyed with how you drive my car, and your stupid cargo pants and your navy seal bullshit, forever. " He said. "And when we're sitting out back in our rocking chairs and you're still insisting to have pineapple on your pizza and I bitch about the weather, I want us to have matching rings on our old, wrinkly fingers okay?" Danny kept stroking Steve's hair as Steve just looked at him with amazement in his eyes. "But most of all I just want you to marry me, can you do that for me?"

Steve smiled the most beautiful smile then as he leaned up to kiss Danny on the mouth, only stopping because he couldn't stop grinning. "Yes." He said "Yes, I'll marry you."

Danny brought their lips together, and in that moment, the word 'divorce' wasn't even on his mind. This was Steve and Danny, after everything they had been through, marriage would have to be a walk in the park.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just keep adding things to this, don't I?

«Hey.» Danny said as he strolled into Grover’s backyard, a smile on his lips and a certain swing in his hips that he only had when he was about to make an important point or prove he was right about something.

Steve turned around from where he was setting the table with Samantha and Kono, and grinned at his fiancé. “Hey.” He answered as everyone else greeted Danny as well. Steve put down the plate he was holding before making his way over to Danny and giving him a quick kiss on your lips.

“Where have you been?” Steve asked “Dinner’s almost ready” He said as he nodded his head towards where Grover and Kamekona were finishing up grilling their steaks.

Danny tipped back on his heels and pursed his lips as if he was thinking about it. “Where was I?” He asked. “I was waiting for you.”

Steve’s expression fell and he furrowed his brows in confusion “What?” he asked, and then looked around, as if someone else could help put some light on the situation. “Shit, was I supposed to pick you up?”

“It makes me so happy that even now, you can’t remember.” Danny said sarcastically as he crossed his arms over his chest before he simply went past Steve as he spotted Grace coming outside with a salad bowl, followed by Chin.

Steve was left standing dumbfounded as he could not for the life of him figure out why Danny was mad at him. The worst part was that Danny didn’t even seem mad, which meant that on the inside he was _boiling._ Because usually, Danny had no problem letting Steve know he was pissed at him. Then Kono walked over to him as Danny greeted his daughter with a kiss on the top of her head.

“You alright there, boss?” She asked with an amused smirk on her face. Steve’s eyebrows rose as he looked at her.

“You know why he’s upset with me?” Steve asked and she just grinned at him.

“I might have an idea, yes.” Kono said and decided to leave him at that as she went over to save Adam from Jerry’s conspiracy ideas that probably made her husband’s head spin.

“Dinner’s ready!” Grover announced before he took the tray of steaks and everyone seated themselves at the table.

Danny offered Steve a smiled as he sat down, and Steve just scoffed at him, clearly annoyed that Danny pretended that he wasn’t upset with Steve, when he clearly was. It irritated Steve even more that Danny wouldn’t just tell Steve what he had done so Steve could either apologize or defend himself.

Everything had been going pretty great lately. The following weekend after their engagement, Danny had told Grace the good news and the girl had been so happy. Even though Steve hadn’t pointed it out, he could tell that it made Danny a lot more confident about the situation. Steve loved being engaged to Danny, and after he had finally gotten the confirmation he needed that Danny really wanted to be with him forever as well, their relationship had gone from great to fantastic. They would talk more openly, about both of their insecurities and about the future they wanted together.

‘ _When we're sitting out back in our rocking chairs and you're still insisting to have pineapple on your pizza and I bitch about the weather, I want us to have matching rings on our old, wrinkly fingers okay?’_

That’s what Danny had told him, what Danny had wanted. Steve had imagined it several times since their engagement and it never stopped bringing a smile on his face. They both knew that there was always the risk that both of them – or any of them, would get the chance to grow old with the lives they were living, but they also knew that they were going to do whatever it took to make sure that future would be an option – a goal to reach for. Steve knew damn well that- oh shit.

“Shit.” He said out loud then, and everyone else suddenly had their eyes on him, everyone except for Danny who was still digging into his steak.

“Language.” He said strictly and pointed his fork at Grace, before finally deciding to look up at Steve and raise his eyebrows.

“Sorry.” Steve answered “And I’m sorry about earlier.”

“Oh.” Danny said as he put his fork and knife down, and leaned back a little. As usual, none of them really cared about everyone else being able to hear their conversation. They were more than used to the two of them bickering. “Now you remember?”

“I forgot.” Steve said.

“Just like you forgot last week.” Danny pointed out, before looking over at Grace and winking at her. Sometimes the girl worried that their bickering would develop into fights and that they might break up, but both Steve and Danny knew that they would never happen unless something really serious happened.

“I didn’t forget.” Steve said, now he had apologized and it was time to defend himself “I had a meeting with the governor.”

“That you didn’t tell me about and I was left waiting for you.” Danny said “Much like today.”

“You could have called.”

Danny bit the inside of his cheek and nodded as if he was deep in thought “Good idea.” He said “Tell me, babe, where’s your phone?”

Steve just looked at him for a moment before he patted his jeans and searched his pockets. Sure enough, he couldn’t find his phone anywhere.

“It’s probably in the car.”

“I called you four times.”

“Okay, I’m sorry, but what is it you two are on about now?” It was Grover who seemed to be the one to let his curiosity get the best of him and finally ask what everyone else was thinking.

“Steve forgot to go ring shopping with Danno.” Grace answered, who clearly found it both a little upsetting and amusing all at once.

“Seriously, brah?” Chin asked, and Danny nodded at him with a ‘right?’ look on his face. Steve groaned.

“That’s not right, man.” Grover said “Didn’t you forget the last time as well?”

“I didn’t forget!” Steve said, and then looked over at Grace, like she had been the one to sell him out. “How did you know?”

“Danno texted me and wanted to know if you were here.” Grace said “Told me not to say anything.”

“Using your daughter to spy on me?”

“Hey.” Danny said innocently as he pointed at his chest. “I was a concerned fiancé, for all I know, you could have been attacking a shark or something.”

“Why would I-?” Steve asked, but then realizing he was getting sidetracked and stopped himself from continuing. “Never mind, I’m sorry okay?”

“I’m pretty sure the lady at the jewelry store thinks I’m making you up.”

Steve ignored how everyone around the table seemed to either be judging him or chuckling at their banter. Danny and Chin joked about it on Steve’s behalf, making Grace laugh and after that, the rest of the dinner seemed to be going all right. Danny lightened up a bit and Grace seemed to forgive him for bailing on her dad (again).

“It’s not like I did it on purpose.” Steve said, trying his best to defend himself when Danny suggested he’d drive Grace back to Rachel’s while Steve took his own car back to their house.

“I know that, babe.” Danny said, still calm as a cucumber. Steve didn’t like Danny when he was like that, he would rather him yell and call him an animal. “I scheduled another appointment, it’s fine, okay?” He answered as Grace said her goodbye’s to the rest of the family. “Come on, monkey!”

Grace ran over to Steve to give him a hug before jumping into the Camaro.

“I’ll see you next weekend, okay?” Steve asked, and Grace grinned at him.

“Are you coming dress shopping with us?” She asked and looked from Steve to Kono.

“Uh.” Steve said as he tried to remember Danny mentioning something about a fitting the following weekend. “Sure.”

“No, he’s not.” Danny said rather strictly, as he threw Steve a look saying ‘I can’t believe you’. “Kono will take you, the rest of us have tux-fittings.”

“Right.” Steve said, trying his best to cover up the fact that he had forgotten that as well. “I knew that.”

Grace just shook her head in disbelief, as Danny closed the door of the car. “I’ll see you at home.” He said to Steve, and he sounded more disappointment than anything else. He didn’t even kiss Steve goodbye before getting into the car and driving off.

“Brah, seriously.” Was the first thing Chin said to him, as the rest of the team walked over to Steve standing there looking like an idiot.

“I should really start writing these things down.” Steve said on a puff of air as Grover clasped his shoulder.

“Yeah, man.” He replied “Or else there might never be a wedding.”

Danny didn’t say much when he got home, he just got a beer out of the fridge and slumped down on the couch next to Steve who was watching a movie he wasn’t really paying attention to. Steve didn’t want to apologize again because clearly there wasn’t any point to it. They just sat there in silence, and after ten minutes Danny got up from his seat and held his hand out for Steve to take. Steve just looked at him, slightly puzzled for a second, before taking the hand and letting himself be dragged upstairs to the bedroom. He didn’t question how Danny’s kisses seemed to linger a little bit longer, or how his eyes were set upon Steve so intensely as they made love.

The next morning, everything seemed to be back to normal. Danny commented on Steve’s breakfast and how he drank his coffee, and Steve begged Danny to stop nagging him.

“You were the one who wanted this, you know.” Danny said as he looked over at Steve from where he was leaning against the kitchen counter.

Steve looked up from his newspaper and raised an eyebrow at him. “What’s that?” he asked.

“You asked me first.” Danny answered “To marry you.”

“Yes.” Steve asked, still puzzled as to what exactly Danny was getting at. “I do want to marry you.”

“Good.” Danny said, and then he didn’t say anything else. Clearly, things weren’t back to normal after all.

Steve put the newspaper down and sighed heavily, because he thought they were past that point in their relationship where they didn’t talk about these things. Danny had always been pretty easy to read, mostly because he would yell out whatever he was feeling, while Steve had always been the one to hold back. This turn of events were not fun at all.

“I am sorry that I keep forgetting these things, Danny.” He said “I don’t know what more to say.” Steve sounded frustrated, and he hated himself for it.

“How about you try to remember it, then?” Danny asked. “I knew- I told you what kind of a burden and strain this puts on a relationship, but you insisted that we could handle it.”

“So, now you’re saying we can’t handle it?” Steve asked.

“I am saying.” Danny started before he put his coffee-cup in the sink. “That you were the one who wanted this and-“

“So you don’t want to marry me, is that it?” Steve asked as he got up from where he was sitting, he realized he was raising his voice and that this was probably unfair, but he really thought Danny was making a bigger deal out of a few missed appointments than what it really was.

“I’ve already been married, Steven!” Danny yelled back, and there it was. Danny yelling was much more comforting than a silent and brooding Danny. “I proposed to you because I wanted to marry you, but I also said that I was fine with just the two of us- maybe Grace with a private ceremony and you were the one who insisted on having this big wedding-“

“Because I plan on only doing this once and I want our friends and family there!” Steve responded.

“And that’s fine, I get that!” Danny answered “But I have to fix _everything,_ I have to be the one to meet with the wedding planner and book tickets for my relatives and your all navy-buddies, and pick out stupid china-patterns and order tuxedo-fittings!”

“I never told you to do all that!” Steve said “Why can’t we just get a venue and invite everyone…”

“That’s not how a wedding works, Steve.” Danny said “And it’s fine, I can do all of this, but the least you can do is show up!”

With that he stomped out of the room, even though both of them knew that the argument would probably continue on their way to work.

When they got to work, things were still tense between them. Danny and Chin went to a crime scene where a teenager had been found dead, while Steve, Grover and Kono went to Max who already had another teenager on his table. The two seemed to be connected.

It wasn’t easy watching the kid on the table like that, and Steve secretly wished Danny was there. He didn’t know why he had suggested Danny and Chin should go to the crime scene, and Danny hadn’t seemed very happy about it either.

“You guys fighting over the wedding?” Kono asked, when Steve had just hung up with Danny after he had given him all the details from the crime scene.

“Sort of.” Steve said “It’s fine.”

At least he hoped it was, they fought over stuff like that all the time. It would probably blow over.

“You can’t miss another appointment.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that as if I’m doing it on purpose?” Steve asked, and he was seriously starting to feel like everyone was against him.

“Come on, boss, you know how Danny is.” Kono answered calmly. “Besides, you were the one who kept pushing him.”

“He proposed to me.” Steve argued, if people kept saying stuff like that, Steve would think that Danny was only marrying him because he felt forced to, even though Steve had reminded him time and time again that he would never leave him, whether they were married or not.

“Marriage takes a lot of work.” Grover decided to pitch in. “Danny knows that, and if you can’t even commit to ring-shopping.”

“It has nothing to do with ring-shopping.” Steve said. “I just don’t get why there has to be so much fuss and he keeps saying that he has to do all of it alone, but I’ve never told him to do any of that stuff.”

Grover and Kono just stared at him like an alien for a moment.

“Do you have _any_ idea how much planning is necessary for a wedding?” Kono asked.

Of course, Steve didn’t, and he suddenly realized that he was the only one on the team who had never gone through all of that.

“Adam and I basically did a spur-of-the-moment wedding and even that was exhausting.” Kono said.

“Man, if you are lucky enough that Danny is willing to go through all of that for a second time….” Grover said “Then the least you can do is show up at the right place to the right time.”

Steve suddenly felt like the biggest dick ever.

The rest of the day was sort of a blur. Kidnapping case with multiple children, some of which had been missing for years. Turned out that the kidnappers got rid of their victims when they became too old, apparently, the kidnappers had lost their own three children at a young age and the mother had some kind of psychotic break. After that they had taken drastic means to get a new family, which meant taking children that looked like the ones they had lost. By midnight, they had found the house in the middle of nowhere where the kids had been held and they had all been reunited with their families, some less permanently scarred than others.

“Hey.” Steve said as he knocked on Danny’s door. His fiancé looked absolutely exhausted and Steve couldn’t blame him, he was always like this after a case involving children. Grover was usually the same way, and the man had all but fled the building after they had wrapped up the case in order get home to his family. “You okay?”

“No.” Danny answered honestly, he didn’t even look up from the paperwork he was finishing.

“Let’s go home.” Steve said “That will still be here tomorrow.”

Danny shook his head, and Steve sighed before going over to Danny’s desk. He leaned against it and stroked a comforting hand through Danny’s hair, it seemed to calm him down a bit as he relaxed into the touch. “I talked to Kono and Grover earlier.” Steve said “About the wedding.”

Danny looked up then, and raised his eyebrows in curiosity. “What did they say?”

“They basically told me I was an asshole and that I’m lucky to have you.”

Danny scoffed at that, and Steve knew that it was because in Danny’s eyes, he thought he didn’t deserve Steve. Which was bullshit, of course.

“Well, you are an asshole.” Danny said.

“And I am lucky to have you.” Steve replied. “You are right, I have no idea what you have put into this wedding that _I_ wanted.”

Danny just shrugged.

“So from now on, I am one-hundred percent involved.” Steve said “You are not allowed to decide on anything without my approval.”

Danny just stared at him in disbelief. “There’s the fitting on Friday.”

“I’ll be there.”

“And a meeting with the planner on Sunday.”

“Sounds good, at what time?”

Danny cocked his head to the side “Noon.” He replied “We have to have the guest list ready before then, and I rescheduled ring shopping for Monday.”

“I don’t have any plans.”

“Steve…”

“Danny.” Steve answered “Consider me a groomzilla from now on out.”

Danny smiled at him as if he was about to cry, and Steve knew that it was more because of the strain the case had taken on him than anything else.

“Come on, babe.” Steve said before kissing the top of Danny’s head. “Grace is already asleep, but how about we call Rachel tomorrow and see if we can drop her off at school, huh?”

Danny nodded against his chest. “Thank you.”

Steve wasn’t sure what he was thanking him for, but he didn’t really care.

Steve actually didn’t’ mind the tux fittings, and he only cursed three times while trying to make a guest list with Danny hovering over him.

But then there was the wedding planner.

Her name was Leah and she was very nice and polite and seemed very excited about the wedding, and Steve still wanted to strangle her.

There were just so many things he hadn’t thought about and whenever he looked from Leah to Danny with a baffled look on his face, his fiancé would just look at him with a ‘I told you so’ face and turn back to the wedding planner.

No Navy-Seal training had ever prepared him for this.

“So if you want to go with these colors for the tablecloths and decorations, you might want to consider something pastel or white in regards of the flowers.” Leah said as she opened up another one of those fabric-books. It seemed like she had brought along forty different ones and Steve’s head was spinning.

“I though we already decided on flowers.” Steve said as he could remember someone saying something about lily’s a while back.

“That was for the ceremony.” She answered “This is for the reception.”

“Right.” Steve answered with a nod, and he could almost feel the amusement from Danny beside him. He wanted to punch him in the face, before he remembered that Danny had been dealing with all of this shit on his own for the last month.

When Steve didn’t say anything more, Leah just scribbled something on a note before closing the book. “It’s fine, we can discuss that on Friday.” She said “Think about it until then, alright?”

“Sure.” Steve said, this was like the fourth thing they needed to agree on by Friday.

“How are we doing with the guest list?” She asked, and honestly Steve wanted to bang his head against the nearest surface because the meeting was taking forever and he had already given up his morning swim for this, he really wanted to catch some waves before all the good ones were gone, but that didn’t seem very likely.

“We finished them last night actually.” Danny said “Babe.”

Steve looked at him for a moment before he realized that he was supposed to bring them. “Oh, yeah.” He said “Right.”

He started fishing through that stupid file that Danny had given him with all the important papers, since he had insisted on being involved. Luckily, he had actually remembered the list.

They talked about seating arrangements, and music and groomsmen and family until Steve’s head was spinning. After a while, Danny was starting to feel sorry for him and jumped in to save his ass whenever it was obvious that he had no clue what they were talking about. Holy shit, if he didn’t’ love Danny before, he sure as hell did now.

After what felt like two days, the meeting was finally over and Steve and Danny said their goodbye’s to Leah, before she left them with what felt like a ton of homework.

The first thing Steve said as soon as Danny had walked her out was “I really was a dick.”

Danny just laughed at him.

“I mean, all that stuff she said we had to do in advance eight months before the wedding?” Steve asked “We haven’t even decided on a date.”

“I know.”

“And the officiant and the hotel rooms for the out-of-town guests? I mean, there’s a lot of them! Plus there was the- the- ehm, registering and the photographer and-“

Suddenly Danny was right there in front of him, kissing him full on the lips and it took a moment before Steve realized it was way of shutting him up.

“I already hired the photographer, remember?” Danny asked. “And I’ve met with the caterer, and we have a lot of potential venues in our price range, we just need to figure out a date.”

“I mean…” Steve said as he shook his head “You are amazing.”

Danny laughed again.

“No, seriously.” Steve replied before cupping Danny’s cheek. “How lucky am I?”

“Thanks for sticking with me today.” Danny said “And I’m sorry.”

Steve furrowed his brows in confusion “For what?”

“I might have told Leah we wanted a three-hour session today just to see how overwhelmed you would get.”

“Has it only been three hours?”

Danny’s smile only grew wider.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess this means I have to write the wedding chapter as well?


	4. Chapter 4

«Woah, woah, woah!» Danny exclaimed as Steve took another sharp turn, almost tipping the car over in the progress. “What the hell are you doing, you animal?” he yelled.

“Would you relax?” Steve snapped back. “Why do you insist on criticizing my driving every chance you get?”

“Why are you trying to get our killed every chance you get?” Danny asked, and vaguely remembered how their therapist used to tell them not to answer questions with another question. “If you were getting cold feet, you could have just told me!”

“Yes, Danny!” Steve said as he took another turn, making the tires screech against the road. “The prisoners didn’t even escape; I actually set them free so we wouldn’t have to get married today!”

The sarcasm was basically dripping from Steve’s voice, and he knew that Danny did not appreciate it.

“I am in my tux, I am hungover and I am about three turns away from throwing up-“

“Do not throw up in this car!”

“It’s my car!” Danny yelled. “Watch out!”

Suddenly Grover was in front of the getaway-car, cutting it off, and the car came to a sudden halt in front of them. Steve was able to hit the breaks just in time, avoiding any major crisis.

“ _Your_ car?” Steve asked as he got his gun and got out of the car, pointing it directly at the car. “Five-0, get your hands in the air and slowly exit the vehicle!”

“Yes, my car.” Danny quipped back, his gun at the ready as well, as the two men exited the car with their hands behind their head.

“What happened to what’s mine is yours, huh?” Steve asked.

“I don’t know.” Danny said “I think you actually have to get married for that part to count.”

“Do you guys ever give it a rest?” Grover asked as the two escaped prisoners, who was still in their orange jumpsuits got down on their knees. Kono just shook her head in disbelief as she and Chin cuffed the two guys. “And what about you two idiots, huh?” Grover asked as he glared at the prisoners. “You honestly thought you could outrun us?”

“We have like an hour to spare, no problem.” Steve answered to Danny’s remark, as if the two prisoners weren’t even there. Over the years, the fact that they worked all the time had really started to show in how unprofessional they sometimes acted in the field. It was pretty much the only time they had to talk about personal things, so they rarely even noticed if someone else was present when they started those kind of conversations. God, who was Steve kidding, they had always been like that.

“No problem.” Danny said on a snicker as he pointed to Steve, completely ignoring the two guys on the ground as well. “No problem, he says.”

“I am just saying, if I can put up with your sisters for three days then you can-“

“Woah!” Danny said, holding up a hand to stop him as he put his gun back in it’s holster now that the prisoners were cuffed and secured. “What’s wrong with my sisters?”

Steve just looked at him as if the answer was too obvious for him to even say anything. It wasn’t really anything wrong with them, but if someone thought Danny had a bad temper, they hadn’t met his sisters. So if all of them got into an argument, it was like all hell broke lose.

“Are you seriously going to lecture me on _my_ family?” Danny asked “Have you met your own?”

“Hey, guys.” Kono said and tried to nod towards the two guys that seemed kind of amused by the whole situation. “We’ll just bring these guys to HPD and then we can get on with the wedding.”

“I swear, you two are never getting out of prison. _Ever.”_ Danny said as he pointed accusingly at the two of them.

“Might be doing you a favor, brah.” One of the guys answered. “The tough guy doesn’t sound like much of a keeper.”

Danny kicked him in the face.

As the guy cursed and cried out something about Danny breaking his nose, Steve just stared at him.

“What?” Danny asked on a shrug “No one talks about my fiancé like that.”

Steve couldn’t help but laugh, completely ignoring the fact that Danny had basically just assaulted someone who was unarmed and cuffed.

“Your tux is dirty.” Steve remarked.

“So is yours.” Danny answered. “Go figure, huh?”

Steve grinned at him.

Luckily for them, they did both actually have quite awesome families and not just when it came to blood. As the team had spent most of the day chasing down criminals all over Honululu, the rest of them had finished everything for the wedding ceremony.

The flowers looked gorgeous, the weather was nice (Danny had been positive that it was going to rain and they would have to move the whole thing indoors), and everyone was dressed up and on time. It was almost too good to be true.

Then there was the team. Danny had to ditch the jacket because one of the sleeves was almost torn off, Steve had holes in the knees of his trousers, Grover’s tie was missing and his shoes were messed up and Chin looked as if he had just spent three days in the desert. The only one looking flawless was Kono. No surprise there.

No one even seemed to flinch or look at them twice as they all made their way to the alter, nodding apologies to their guests for being late, even though they looked like a tornado had hit them. Steve wasn’t as pessimistic as Danny, but even though he didn’t admit it, he also thought something else might come up and the wedding would have to be postponed. No one, not even Danny, was more surprised than him when they got through their vows and was able to say ‘I do’ without any more interruptions.

Suddenly they were declared lawfully wedded husbands, and Danny was kissing him, and just like that, they were married. It was almost impossible to believe. He was married to Danny. Steve had actually managed to convince Danny Williams to marry him. No turning back now, because Steve was never going to let him go as long as he knew Danny wanted to be with him.

The reception was beautiful as well, and Steve had to give their wedding planner extra credit for what she’d been able to put together. Danny’s mother was crying as she kissed Steve’s cheek and welcomed him to the family, and Mary had bumped Danny’s hip and welcomed him to the mad house. Then there was a clinking of glasses, and Steve and Danny had to look up from where they were bickering over skydiving on their honeymoon to see Grace and Chin walk up on stage.

Steve raised his eyebrows, as he hadn’t been aware that Danny’s daughter had prepared a speech. He glanced over at Danny, who just wiggled his eyebrows at his husband before looking back at Grace and offering her a huge smile.

“As the best men, or should I say, best man and best woman, we thought we’d say a few words to the happy couple.” Chin said. He started talking about how Steve had been in high school and threw a few embarrassing stories in there as well, which Steve was sure Danny appreciated greatly.

Grace looked so grown-up as she stood there, proud as peacock and congratulated them on their marriage. She talked about the first time she had met Uncle Steve, and everyone laughed at the story.

Steve smiled at the memory. ‘ _He talks about you a lot too’_

They brought up how everyone always thought he and Danny were married, even long before they got together and no one in the audience seemed to be able to disagree to that. Steve squeezed Danny’s hand as they pointed out that it wasn’t only because they argued like an old married couple, but also because they were so obviously protective of one another.

“You make Danno really happy, Uncle Steve.” Grace said, and Steve smiled at her. “And you’ve always been there for me.” She continued, and Steve had promised himself that he wouldn’t cry, “I just want you to know that even though I already have a dad and a stepdad… I have room for one more.”

That promise went straight to hell.

Everyone clapped as they finished her speech, and Danny and Steve both got up to hug the two of them. Steve squeezed Grace extra hard and kissed the top of her head. “You’re really something, you know that kiddo?”

She nodded on a laugh, and Danny pulled her close to his side before kissing the top of her head as well. “Thanks, monkey.” He said “That was the best speech ever.” He said before looking back at Chin. “I can’t believe you never shared those stories with me earlier, do you have any idea of how many times I could have used that leverage?”

Steve rolled his eyes at him.

“Was saving it for a special occasion.” Was Chin’s answer before he squeezed Steve’s shoulder one last time before he made his way back to the table where Adam, Kono and Malani were sitting with Grover and his family.

Danny playfully bumped his hip against Steve, and Steve turned to look at him. “We’re married.” Danny said, with a huge grin.

“Wasn’t so bad, was it?” Steve asked and threw his arm around Danny’s shoulder, and smiled when Danny automatically reached around his waist.

“We’ll see once we get past the honeymoon phase.” Danny answered, and Steve couldn’t help but snicker. He was too happy to argue, and Danny could be as negative as he wanted, because Steve knew- he just knew that the two of them would make it.

“Whatever you say, babe.” Steve said “But speaking of honeymoon.”

“No skydiving!” Danny argued. “No, wait scratch that. If you feel the need to jump out of an airplane on our honeymoon, then go right ahead.”

“Don’t be such a drama queen.” Steve said, and kissed Danny’s temple for good measure. “Besides, I’m not sure we can even go skydiving in New York.”

“What?” Danny asked as he looked at him with raised eyebrows as they made their way back to their table. As soon as they sat down, Steve grabbed Danny’s hand again and started stroking his knuckles, just because he could. “I thought we were going to Rio.”

“Your mom is insisting we come and visit in Jersey.” Steve said “We rarely get any time off, so I thought we’d spent our honeymoon in New York, that way you can show me the city, cause I’ve never been _and_ we can go to Jersey for a couple of days as well and I can see where you grew up.”

Danny just stared at him for the longest time before answering. “It’ll be cold there now.”

“I know.”

“It will be snow on the ground, you’ll have to wear a jacket, possibly a scarf.” Danny said.

“I know what cold means, Daniel.” Steve said as he noticed how Danny hooked his foot around Steve’s ankle underneath their table. “I want to see your home.”

Danny smiled at him. “You can be very sweet when you want to, you know that right?”

“I know.” Steve answered with a grin, and Danny leaned in and kissed him for a moment before they were rudely interrupted by someone on stage telling them it was time for their first dance. “Wait, you should dance with your mother first.” Steve said.

“Your mother isn’t here.” Danny remarked with a frown.

Steve shrugged. He had absolutely no idea where Doris might be, but that shouldn’t have to matter, because Danny’s mother _was_ there and she loved his son and they should have a mother-son dance at their wedding. “Clara, come on.” He said with a smile and nodded to the DJ who put on a song for them to dance to.

Danny gave Steve one last look, but Steve just smiled at him and all but pushed the two of them onto the dance floor.

“You wish she was here?” Mary asked as she sneaked up beside Steve.

“I don’t know.” Steve answered, because honestly he wasn’t sure. Instead he just shrugged and put an arm around his sister. “I wish dad was here though.”

“Me too.” Mary answered at once as the two of them watched Clara say something to Danny which made him laugh as the two of them swayed on the dancefloor. “You know what, I have a daughter.”

“Yes, I know.” Steve answered with a smile. “You’re a great mom, Mary.”

“Exactly, I’m a mom.” Mary said before she reached out and offered her hand to Steve. “Which means that I qualify as a partner for a mother-son dance, don’t you think?”

Steve couldn’t believe how much his little sister had grown. It was almost difficult to remember how rebellious and troublesome she had been. Now she was so mature and beautiful and Steve couldn’t be any prouder.

He took her and lead her out on the dancefloor. Danny grinned at him from where he was still dancing with his mother and Steve smiled back. Steve knew that Danny was happy that both of his sisters were there, but he also knew that Danny missed his brother, just like Steve missed his father.

Then there was a hand on his shoulder, and Steve slowly turned around to Clara smiling at him asking if they minded if she cut in. Steve shook his head as Danny grabbed a laughing Mary and started swinging her around the dancefloor to a pace that really fit the music. Clara put one hand on Steve’s forearm and the other one grasped Steve’s hand and they started swaying.

“You know, I never thought Daniel would marry again.” She said “He was dead set on that.”

“Yes, I know.” Steve answered.

“Thank you for not giving up on him.” Clara said “He deserves to be happy.”

“Giving up on him never crossed my mind.” Steve said, because honestly it never had. It didn’t matter if he and Danny had never gotten married, because he would have spent the rest of his life trying to make him happy anyway.

“Yeah, you don’t seem like the type.” She remarked. “Danny tells me you’ll be visiting sooner rather than later.”

“That’s the plan.” Steve answered. “Please tell me you kept his childhood room the way it was.”

“Oh, of course I did.” She replied with a grin. “You’ll love the wallpaper.”

Steve laughed then and was rewarded with a curious look from his husband from where he was still twirling Mary around. Husband. Steve wasn’t sure if he would ever get used to that word, but he sure did love it.

They danced for a little while longer until the song ended, and Steve earned a hug from Clara and the DJ once again told them it was time for the happy couple’s first dance.

Steve held out his hand to Danny who just sighed as if he had been dreading dancing with his husband, but Steve didn’t care as he dragged Danny close to him. When the music started playing, Danny’s eyes lit up and he grinned stupidly at Steve.

“This was the song you picked?” He asked, and Steve shrugged with a devious smirk on his face. “It’s a crappy song to slow dance to.”

“I don’t care.” Steve answered. “It’s my love song to you.”

“You know that was kind of fitting, because I forgot to tell you earlier.” Danny said as he sneaked his arm around Steve’s forearm, before gripping Steve’s shoulder. “You said that you wanted to see my home, but you know that even though I hate to admit it, that this is my home now, right?”

Steve rested his forehead on Danny’s for a moment before nodding. “I know, but I love to hear you say it.”

“I think we’re going to fight a lot.”

“Bicker.”

“Whatever.” Danny said “I love you though.” He said as he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Steve’s lips as he noticed other couples starting to make their way to the dancefloor again. “I think we’re going to be happy, you know, most of the time.”

“I know we will.” Steve answered. “I love you, Daniel Williams.”

“Williams McGarrett.” Danny said and Steve’s heart almost skipped a beat before Danny frowned and furrowed his eyebrows. “No, that sounds stupid.”

“Wait, no it doesn’t.” Steve said “You never mentioned taking my name before.”

“I thought you wanted me to.” Danny answered, as if it wasn’t that big of a deal, even though Steve knew that it was. Danny had been so terrified of getting married, he knew that Danny had been scared of what he would lose if the two of them were to ever break up. Danny would never take Steve’s name unless he was absolutely sure that he and Steve were going to make it. It made Steve’s chest tighten in the most wonderful way. “Maybe McGarrett Williams will sound better, I don’t know, still brainstorming that one.”

“We’ll figure out the names later.” Steve said. His cheeks actually hurt with how much he had been smiling throughout the day. “It’ll be weird when we introduce ourselves in the field- I’m Commander McGarrett Williams, this is my partner, Detective McGarett Williams.”

“Williams McGarett.” Danny corrected him as he was trying out both of the names on his tongue once again. “Maybe we’ll just stick with McGarett _and_ Williams when it comes to introductions.”

“Probably for the best.” Steve said “It’ll be much more fun filling out paperwork if I get to sign it with your name as well though.”

“Please, you never do any paperwork.”

“No, but it’ll be more fun for you.” Steve said as he leaned in closer and kissed Danny again, this time, he didn’t pull back right away, but let his lips rest against Danny’s. “We’re married.”

“Mm.” Danny said “You’re a husband.”

“So are you.”

“Feels weird.”

“Good weird though.”

“Yeah.” Danny said with a grin. “Definitely.”

“See….” Steve said as he pulled Danny even closer to his body, as he once again rested his forehead against Danny’s. “I told you we would get along great.

_Just know you're not alone_

_'Cause I'm gonna make this place your home_


End file.
